Mango Computer Tuition

Use Your Camera, Use Your Brain

2011-11-12T17:36:00.003+10:00

Can’t Read the Dial – No Problem

Use you digital camera to take photos of the knobs and dials on your appliances. Especially the ones that get used often and suffer abuse. Don’t forget your tools, camping gear and barbeque.

Why Go Through the Trouble

Because some day the numbers on the dials may wear off and you won’t know where the settings are.

Where Did This Idea Come From

I don’t use the food processor much, but a few weeks ago My Goddess was visiting a

friend and I actually had to fend for myself (maybe I should post that on the abused husband blog).

Using the food processor was impossible because My Goddess is a clean nut. She cleaned the numbers right off the dial. I was going to ring her for help, but didn’t want to seem like I couldn’t cope.

What Am I to do. I went on line and downloaded the manual for the machine. I took a close look at the controls and made a little label for it.

The following Saturday I took pictures of the barbie, the camp stove, the outboard throttle and some other gear. I printed a copy and put it in a real paper file, and then saved the picture to the computer.

Oh! the mango salsa I made tasted great and she still doesn’t know that I can’t survive without her.

Office 2010 Save Document as PDF

2011-10-27T08:04:00.004+10:00

Create or Open Document that you want to convert to PDF
It is probably a good idea to save it as a regular word document first.

To Save as PDF

Click File
Click Save as
When the Save As Box opens
Navigate to where you want to save it
In the file name box type in the name you want for the PDF document
Click the arrow to the right of the “Save as type” box
Select PDF
Click Save

You now have a PDF document

2011-10-26T07:08:00.008+10:00

Help Me, my internet doesn’t work.

It has to be frustrating, your broad band connection is down and you call tech support for some help.

The technician on the other end of the line is polite and seems to know what they are talking about, but you still have no idea of what they are saying.

At one stage they may have you look at the back of your modem/router. To the untrained it jus looks like a group of wires and calbes. the following illustrations may help to clarify things.

Above is a typical ADSL Modem/Router. Above that is a typical Modem/Router Powersupply. They may not look exactly like yours, but the pictures should still be helpful

Connections:

Power: It is where we unplug/plug in the power supply. It normally is a small round hole that looks like the example
ADSL Internet: this is where you plug in the line from your telephone connection
LAN: You may only have one (not four) This is where you plug in the cable that connects the modem/router to your computer. They look like fat telephone connections
Some people have a USB connection rather than a LAN (Ethernet) connection, but that is not too common.

We hope this makes your computing a bit easier.

The List to End All List

2011-10-25T07:46:00.004+10:00

A facts list won't eliminate all your list but it will make life easier.

We have so much to remember. Why not put them all in one document. Think of the document as a storage draw for information that is important, but not needed often enough to commit to memory. A place to list all the important information that you use once in awhile.

When you first gathered the information it took plenty of time. Now that you have it, why not put it into a “Facts Document”.

When you need it again, just open your “Facts Document” and there it is.

Some Examples

The date that warranties expire. That would save you digging through files to find the docket only to find out that the warranty expired 3 days before.

The name of a service man you really liked dealing with

The name of a service man that you would never deal with again.

The size of the flouro tubes in the kitchen. Saves measuring them every time one burns out

Your air miles membership numbers. Sure beats digging them out when you are booking your vacation.

How To Do It

Open a new document in your word processor. Type in your facts and save it as “Facts”.

Then whenever you need one of those not often used bits of information it is at your fingertips.

If you put in any info that you rather others didn’t see you could consider protecting the

document with a password.

You could even place the list on your desktop for quicker access

Backup Warning Number 101

2011-10-24T17:26:00.002+10:00

Doing a Backup is Good

But

Don’t forget your memory sticks

We received a call from a frantic mid-level manager. She said she just lost a bunch of her data. It was on her memory stick. Her job required her to move between many of the companies offices so the stick was used to store all the tools and data she needed to keep current. Everything was created from or saved to the memory stick.

Well the inevitable happened. The memory stick died. Her home computer would not recognize the stick. Her son’s computer would not recognize the stick. Another memory stick worked in both computers.

Where do you back memory stick to. Why not make a regular practice of copying the files to your computer.

iPod Prices in Australia are Lower

2011-10-23T14:15:00.003+10:00

Looks like iPod prices have dropped in Australia and the discount is hitting some of our local shops. If you are thinking of getting an iPod this could be the time.

The prices quoted here could change but the news is that the iPod prices have been lowered.

Caution: the prices mentioned are from the online catalogues on Sunday 23 Oct 2011. If you are going to make a purchase Contact the sellers to see if the prices still apply.

Apples Australian Online Store Prices

iPod Touch 8GB	$219.00
iPod Touch 32GB	$329.00
iPod Touch 64GB	$439.00

iPod Classic 160GB	$279.00

iPod Nano 8GB	$139.00
iPod Nano 16GB	$169.00

iPod Shuffle	$55.00

Office Works

iPod Touch 8GB	$198.00
iPod Touch 32GB	$307.00

iPod Classic 160GB	$268.00

iPod Nano 8GB	$139.00

iPod Shuffle 2GB	$48.00

Dick Smiths

iPod Touch 8GB	$198.00
iPod Touch 32GB	$309.00
iPod Touch 64GB	$428.00

iPod Classic 160GB	$268.00

iPod Nano 8GB	$139.00

iPod Shuffle 2GB	$52.00

The above examples are not a check for the lowest prices. We are just quoting the current prices of stores that most Australians are familiar with. To be sure you are getting the best price check around.

Kids Corner

2011-10-21T09:47:00.012+10:00

The iCat
The, grade school, daughter of one of our regular readers noticed their cat's interest in her dad's iPad. She took pen in hand and wrote the following poem

Icat

My cat can use an iPad!

He composed a whole e-mail

He searched online for cat games

And hacked into my g-mail!

He spent one thousand dollars

Upgrading all my apps

And for another hour

Used Youtube to watch rap!

He hired a stealthy robber

To steal my neighbour’s dog

I tried and tried to stop him

But he filled the house with fog

I caught the robber in the act

And quickly phoned the cops

When he tried to explain what happened

All their jaws just dropped

I watched my cats plan fall apart

And took my iPad away

I locked it in a metal safe

And it’s still there today

Increase Internet Font Size

2011-10-20T09:14:00.001+10:00

An old but often overlooked trick. If the eyes are getting a bit tired, why not increase the font size of the web page.

It is easy

It is temporary

To Increased the Font Size

Hold down the Ctrl Key and hit the plus key

You can do it repeatedly to make it bigger, bigger, bigger, and bigger again

Simple but it works.

Try it now

iPod a really good way to go

2011-10-19T10:03:00.003+10:00

I had a go at an iPod years ago. At that time I felt a simple mp3 player better fit my needs. Things have changed since my first review. I am now using an iPod and am crazy about it. I will be posting more about using and enjoying an iPod in future post.

Mac Virus

2011-05-19T09:32:00.003+10:00

Mac owners lover to tout the fact that there computers are safe from viruses and malware. Well sadly those days are behind us.

If you have a Mac you are now coming under attack and should look into a security program.

Also there are reports that Macs are also coming under attacks via Skype. Avoid opening Skype messages from unknown people. Also look into getting the latest version of Skype.

More on this latter

Email Scam Re: Electronic Payments ACH

2011-05-17T07:02:00.007+10:00

An email arrives from NACHA. Telling you that there has been a problem with a recent automatic payment either to you or from you.
You are asked to click on a link or open a document with the ending letters .pdf.exe. Knowing that a PDF file is usually safe you open it.

The Nightmare Begins

When you click on the link or open the file the nightmare begins. It is not a PDF but a virus.

The following is from NACHA's website

NACHA itself does not process nor touch the ACH transactions that flow to and from organizations and financial institutions. NACHA does not send communications to persons or organizations about individual ACH transactions that they originate or receive.

When talking about 2 day old fish, Mum used to say "When in doubt throw it out". You would be pretty wise applying the same to fishy emails.

Some of the subject lines for this email have been:
Please review the transaction report
Rejected ACH transaction
Rejected ACH transaction, please review the transaction report
Unauthorized ACH transaction
Unauthorized ACH Transaction Report
Your ACH transaction was rejected
Your ACH transaction was rejected by The Electronic Payment Association

I guess the next question would be how does the Electronic Payment Association become NACHA

Virus Warning

2011-05-10T11:17:00.001+10:00

Phoney Delivery or Lack of Delivery Notice

There is a virus going around today. Comes in an email. Looks like an older one with a new twist.

It will appear to come from Australia Post or a Courier, and instruct you to open the attached file. As soon as you open it you are infected.

This gets tricky if you have just sent a package or are just waiting for a package. Our suggestion is to delete the email, then delete it from the Deleted Folder. When that is done either ring your courier or go to their website.

Happy World Backup Day

2011-04-01T08:31:00.005+10:00

What is World Backup Day?
The tech communities day to once more remind you to backup

Why Today
Because it is April Fools Day, and not backing up is foolish.

Why Backup?
Because drives crash and data is lost.

There is no point in going into great detail. All hard drives eventually fail.

Be Smart - Backup
If you don't know how to backup find someone to help you.

Back-Up Your Data, Probably Sick of Hearing It, Too Bad

2011-03-31T18:15:00.004+10:00

Question: Why do computer Guys always nag about backing up data?

Answer: Because there are more ways to lose data then there are ways to retrieve it.

And here is one of those reasons. Many hard drives platters (where you data is stored) are made of a glass and ceramic type compound. Generally they are pretty hardy but drop one and all heck could break lo0se. In fact the disc can become loose. Restart the computer and the platter can destroy itself. They rotate at a very high RPM so a little off balance can wreck a drive.

Hard Drive Shakes Like a Babies Rattle

Today we broke the news to a young fellow that he has lost a years worth of school assignments. Including the one that is due in 3 days.

His drive is shattered. There are no normal methods of data recovery that will work. If he had spent ½ hour last week backing up his important data he would be back in business.

Be Careful Where You Click

2011-03-26T10:09:00.002+10:00

Be careful of where you click. Often times a phony scan will start. A box will pop up asking if you want to get their Super Duper Protection Program.

If you click Yes you will download the bad guy, if you click No you will download the bad guy. Those little boxes can be programmed to do whatever the programmer wants.

You may find you can’t close the webpage without clicking on something, well just shut down the computer. Push in the Power button on your computer for 5 or 10 seconds and let it go. It should turn off your computer. This is not the best way to turn off your computer, but it is better than getting a dangerous program.

Know how to quickly disconnect your computer from the internet. Not just closing the web, but disconnecting your computer from the internet. Have your computer tech show you how to quickly disconnect from your modem/router or your wireless connection. Then as soon as a phony scan starts you can disconnect before any further damage is done.

Rogue Software. Report States 11,000 domains involved in spreading Rogue Security Programs

2011-03-24T08:32:00.003+10:00

It has been reported that research by Google has shown that 11,000 domains are involved in the spread of Rogue Anti-Virus and Rogue Security Programs. You can be unknowingly directed to one of these pages and be trick into thinking your machine is infected with all kinds of baddies.
Read previous post to learn more.

Rogue Security Programs! How Do They Get On My Computer?

2011-03-23T12:29:00.003+10:00

This is a good question, especially, if you are careful with your web surfing. The rogue programs have a number of sources but one of the most common is by following a link from a search engine.

The bad guys know what is popular at the times. What is likely to have a lot of searches. They attack some of the search engine results and have you redirected to a bogus website.

The bogus website shows a virus scan is taking place. It may even say they have found Child Porn on your computer. There is a link on the page to fix the problem. You click the link and before you can bat an eye the rogue program is downloaded to your computer.

Steps to Take If This Happens

If you did not initiate a scan on your computer figure that what you are seeing is phony.
Don’t click anywhere.
Disconnect from the internet or shut down your computer quickly.
If it won’t shut down force a shut down by holding in the On Button for about 5 seconds.

Watch our blog for more tips.

If we save you from getting a Rogue Anti-Virus, consider making a contribution. Your contributions allow us to keep the info flowing.

Personal Security, Personal Antivirus, Antivirus 2011, Windows Security Protection and a host of other official sounding programs are Rogue Programs

2011-03-23T08:47:00.005+10:00

These and hundreds of other Rogue Security programs are fast become a blight on the internet.

These programs appear to be doing security scans on your computer. They then show you a list of problems found and offer you a solution at a price.

The scans they show are real looking but are actually phony animations, the results are either totally false or greatly exaggerated.

There are many place that will offer fixes for these problems. We offer no suggestions on repair but over the next few weeks will try to offer some possible ways to prevent becoming a victim.

First and foremost

Make sure you have a good Anti-Virus Program
Keep your Anti-Virus Program updated
Ensure that your Firewall is on
Make sure your operating system (Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7 etc) is fully updated.
Turn on automatic updates for your operating system.
Keep all other programs updated.

Future Blog Post will offer more suggestions.

Mango Computer Tuition is Still In Business

2011-03-17T10:51:00.002+10:00

We recently removed some of our advertising. The reason for this is that we were getting enough business from existing customers, referrals, and our websites. We take pride in offering wonderful service to wonderful people, and it is paying off in repeat business.
Like all business we need a certain amount of new customers but our websites have been providing this.
If you are used to getting our number from the newspaper add you might want to tape our card to your computer.

Phone Calls Regarding Your Computer

2011-03-17T10:31:00.007+10:00

I'm From Windows and I'm Calling to Help You

If you receive a phone call the purports to be from Microsoft, Windows, or any other official sounding name it is probably a scam. It can lead to losing money, having your bank account raided and all other nasty things.
We won't go into all the ploys used, the evil empire adds to the list daily, but you should treat all unsolicited computer calls with caution.

The normal procedure is

You receive a call, they may ask for you by name.
They say "we notice your computer is malfunctioning, and we are here to help"
They are not, here to help. They are here to harm

No Credit Card so Must Be Safe

They may or may not ask for credit card info, but it doesn't matter. They will still scam you. They will ask you to get on to your computer and have you mess with things that will allow them to steal from you.
Ford never rings you and says we are going to fix your car over the phone, and Microsoft never rings you and says we are going to fix your computer over the phone.

Persistant

If you don't give in they may keep pressing you. They may even say that your computer is sending out terrible viruses and it has to be stopped. They may get very pushy. They may get very friendly.
Sometimes they even call back and try again. They may say the threat from your computer has excalated and must be fixed.
Just hang up.

Rogue Security Software: Personal Security, Personal Antivirus, Antivirus 2011

2011-01-20T11:02:00.007+10:00

The above and hundreds of other Rogue Security software is fast become a blight on the internet.

The idea of the program is to show you a phony virus scan and scare you into sending them money to remove the viruses.

Where:
Normally you will be surfing the internet. Maybe, following a link to from Google, you may even be on a trusted website.

What happens:
While on a website you will receive notice that a scan has begun because of suspected trojan, malware, or virus activity. If you let the scan complete you will see a long list of problems that the scan discovered.
You will be offered a button to click. This will supposedly fix the problems. Clicking it could actually install the bad guys on your computer, at best it will take you to a place where it will ask for credit card details so you can buy the solution.

Can this be prevented:
Yes and no. The usual always helps such as keeping your computer updated and having a good security program, but the nature of this beast makes it hard for Antivirus programs to stop it.
To help from getting to technical think of it this way. The scan you see is not really a scan. Just a phony video of a scan. The problem really starts if you follow the prompts or do any clicking afterwards.

What can I do:
Besides what is mentioned above you can become familiar with how your Security Program looks, when it scans. If you see anything else stop it. How to stop. If you can, disconnect your computer from the internet; do it as quickly as possible. Then shut your computer down. While still disconnected from the internet turn your computer back on and see if the problem is there.
Next run scans with all your own security programs.

Removing these programs are difficult and I will offer no advice on that, but I have found bleepingcomputer offers some good advice www.bleepingcomputer.com offers some great suggestions. Cut and paste the link. When you arrive at their page look for the removal list. It will list different Rogue programs and give instructions on removing them. We didn't put in a hyperlink because we do not want the bad guys hyjaicking the link and bringing you to one of their places.

What Else Can I Do:
If you fall prey to one of these scams. Notify your bank and try real hard to have them remove any unauthorized charges to your card. Once the banks have to go to the trouble maybe the crooks will have a hard time getting merchant accounts or the banks will blacklist them. If all victims did this the rogue would eventually die out.

Remember if you give you credit card info to these people your are giving the keys to the hen house to the fox.

NOD 32 Esset "Program component upgrade" message

2010-03-06T16:21:00.004+10:00

If you use NOD 32 V.3, and your version is older than 3.0.695 you may receive the following pop up on your computer.

According to Esset's website this is A-OK (if you are using a version prior to 3.0.695.0.)

To view Esset's page Click Here The infomation on the NOD page is dated and the link may not work long after 6 March 2010

Of course, having something strange like this pop up can be scary and NOD should have done a better job of letting it's users know what was happening.

The following is from Esset's website.
Program Component Update (PCU) has been released for all English-language version 3 ESET security products, automatically upgrading them to the latest build, version 3.0.695. The update began February 22, 2010, with versions in other languages to follow. ESET recommends automatically upgrading your ESET security product to version 3.0.695. To upgrade to this latest version, follow the steps below:

Important! A red ESET icon after running the PCU is caused from the automatic upgrade running on a machine with old virus signature updates. The functionality and update of the product are not affected by the red icon. Wait until your ESET security product connects to the update servers and downloads the latest virus signature updates. Your ESET security product icon will then return to its normal color.

From the Program component upgrade window, click Yes. Your ESET security product will begin downloading and upgrading your product.

Changes to Our Website 9 November 09

2009-11-09T07:09:00.006+10:00

Mango Computer Tuition's website has had some recent updates that might prove interesting. We mention them here because we know that many of our customers check the blog on a regular basis.

Recent Changes:
Using CCleaner to improve computer performance
Info about our Repair and Upgrade Service
Meet David, our Senior Tech

Phony Facebook Email Beware

2009-11-07T08:26:00.007+10:00

There is an email floating around, supposedly from Facebook support. It ask you to download and unzip a file. Do not open it. Delete it.
A zip file is a good way to hide a destructive file. A good practice is to never open a zip file, unless you know it is from a trusted source, and you first verify that the trusted source sent it.

The email reads: Dear Facebook user, Due to Facebook policy changes, all Facebook users must submit a new, updated account agreement, regardless of their original account start date. Accounts that do not submit the updated account agreement by the deadline will have restricted. Please unzip the attached file and run "agreement.exe" by double-clicking it. Thanks, The Facebook Team Confirmation Code #: 024586930858

One of the address, supposedly sending it is "facebooksupport+asucdvvw@facebookmail.com"

We have not researched this email but:

We know it did not originate from Facebook
We know that opening an unknown zip file could be dangerous
We know that an unknown exe file should always be considered a danger
Logic tells us that Facebook would post such a notice on their site, not send an email

Hope this helps to keep your computing safe

Case History 06 July 09 - Why Backup

2009-07-06T11:58:00.004+10:00

How a Good Backup Program Saved the Day
A business customer was working on her end of year financials. She turned off her computer to take a lunch break. When she returned her computer would not boot. After troubleshooting the problem it was revealed that the hard drive failed.
The drive was fairly new, and was still in warranty. It would be replaced an no charge, but her data was lost.
This could have been one of those computer nightmares, but it wasn’t.

You probably get tired of hearing your “computer guy” telling you to backup, but if you had to suffer through a complete data lose you would understand his persistence.

Why the Disaster Was Only a Minor Irritation

In March we imaged the customer’s hard drive. This is a procedure that creates an exact duplicate of the disk, including:
Operating System
All Windows Settings
All Email Settings
All Web Browser Settings
All programs and program settings
All data at the time of the image.
Each week the customer performed a regular backup of her data:
Financial files
Word Documents
Pictures
MYOB data
Music

Without the Image and regular backups it would have been a 12 hour job getting the new drive set up and installing Windows and all the programs. It would have taken the customer weeks to input the data, if she was lucky enough to have hard copies of most of it.

With a recent Image and regular backups the system was up and running in 2 hours. It looked, felt, and was exactly as the computer was at the date of the last backup.
The only thing missing was recent emails. The customer felt she could live without them, but decided to include important emails in future backups.

Your Hard Drive Will Fail It Is Just a Question of When

Talk with your IT professional and arrange to set up a regular backup policy. If you are lucky enough to live in the Redland City area of Brisbane we would be happy to help